January 2018

zdnet.com - Google is extending its cloud computing infrastructure with the introduction of five new regions and plans to build its own undersea cable.
The advertising-to-cloud-computing giant said its new Netherlands and Montreal cloud computing regions will open in the first quarter of 2018, followed by Los Angeles, Finland, and Hong Kong.
Like other cloud infrastructure companies, Google orders its cloud computing resources into regions which are then subdivided into zones, which include one or more datacenters from which customers can run their services. It currently has 15 regions made up of 44 zones.

bgr.com - A few days ago, Samsung confirmed that it will unveil the Galaxy S9 at MWC 2018 next month. Which is exactly when what expected. Early rumors did say the phone could be unveiled in early January at CES, as Samsung wanted to counter the iPhone X with a brand new phone as soon as possible. As we got closer to the trade show, however, it became clear that Samsung would not announce the handset. The company never issued any Unpacked press event invitations to the media, and fresh rumors said the phone would be announced only in February.
A trustworthy leaker now has actual dates for the Galaxy S9 rollout schedule, including dates for the announcement event, preorders, and the actual in-store release.

Protect data and devices in the age of mobility and cloudJanuary 16, 2018

it-online.co.za - Digital transformation is touching every sector, industry and organisational size, with SMEs being empowered by digital technologies such as hyperscale cloud computing to gain enterprise-grade services and compete for the same customers as big corporations.
By Lionel Moyal, Office business group lead at Microsoft South Africa
While the digital era presents many opportunities for companies, it is also producing numerous challenges, including security threats that can be devastating to a company's reputation and bottom line.
Previously, a business could only enable corporate-issued devices on its networks and protect its infrastructure behind a firewall. In the digital era, trends such as bring your own device and mobility have, along with the need to co-create value and collaborate with partners, made isolationism impossible.

iol.co.za - CAPE TOWN - There had previously been much debate about which of the four mobile networks in South Africa is the fastest and most cost effective.
MTN has finally put the debate to rest. MyBroadband's Mobile Network Quality Report for South Africa's published a report, assessed the last quarter (Q4) 2017 performance of the four mobile networks.
Data was collected through the publisher's Android Speed Test app which tested 113 000 tests of 8 250 users during the measured period.
According to the results, there is a clear winner. MTN hailed in as the fastest mobile network. Boasting an average download and upload speed, MTN ranked the highest average of any network with 22.22Mbps and 10.07Mbps. Latency, the performance of the hosted desktop's system also outperformed with 50Mbps on average. This, from 28 870 tests.

consumerreports.org - New mobile technology would boost internet speeds and efficiency, but when is it coming and what can we expect?
Imagine never having to log on to public WiFi again.
You'd be surrounded by a cloud of connectivity instead-one that follows you when you leave your home, allowing for everything from simple conveniences such as the seamless streaming of music to vastly more complicated and high-stakes ideas like "smart" cities and driverless cars.
That's the big idea behind 5G (or fifth generation) mobile connectivity. It's not just faster than the 4G systems we use now; eventually it might even replace the wired connections that most homes and businesses run on.
"5G will put fiber into your pocket," Tim Baxter, CEO of Samsung Electronics North America, said at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

With Mobile And Social Technologies, Firstline Workers Are Catching Up To Their Office CounterpartsJanuary 8, 2018

forbes.com - Many blue-collar and service jobs involve physical or manual tasks, but that doesn't mean they can't be transformed with technology tools and platforms. The challenge is that the technology opportunities for members of this firstline workforce-which often comprises the majority of companies' employees-have been overlooked for so long.
More and more, though, there is movement toward boosting the technology available to firstline workers-those employees who are the first point of contact with customers or spend most of their time making or servicing products or managing operations. This shift promises to have a dramatic impact on firstline worker jobs and productivity.
Business leaders seem to recognize this, increasingly acknowledging that firstline workers need the same level of digital enablement and support that knowledge workers have seen in recent years. Why? Because firstline workers are the most important employees in organizations when it comes to defining the customer experience and delivering products or services.

satprnews.com - Mobile Workforce Management is a category of software and services, used to manage employees working on field (outside the company premises). The increasing usage frequency of mobile devices, secured wireless networks, mobile applications and virtual desktops have provided new mobile workforce opportunities for small and medium businesses. EPAY System Inc. (U.S.), a leading American company in providing unified human capital management, says that by 2020 in U.S., the number of mobile workers will increase to 105 million. Falling prices of smart phones and tablets, growth of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend in work place, latest innovations in computing and mobile broadband technology are the key drivers for the growth of mobile workforce management market. As mobile ownership is increasing, more companies are adopting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies which has many advantages like employees can use devices they are familiar with and work flexible hours which increases productivity and companies can save the cost on hardware.
To keep up with the growing trends, corporate leaderships are investing in mobile workforce management technologies to automate manual tasks, improve productivity/profitability, gain transparency, and reduce risk. However, these technologies end up creating a huge number of administrative tasks, making the lives of mobile workers more challenging and taking time away from their core job functions. The mobile workforce management should possess automatic scheduling, routing, effective dispatch, business intelligence, simplifies application integration and forecast work demand.